HMS Blackwall

Blackwall was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, launched at Blackwall Yard in 1696.^[1]

History
England
Name	Blackwall
Ordered	12 September 1695
Builder	Henry Johnson, Blackwall Yard
Launched	6 July 1696
Captured	20 October 1705, by the French
France
Name	Blekoualle
Acquired	20 October 1705
Captured	15 March 1708, by the British
Fate	Captured again by French 1709
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line
Tons burthen	678
Length	131 ft 1.5 in (40.0 m) (gundeck)
Beam	34 ft 2.5 in (10.4 m)
Depth of hold	13 ft 7.5 in (4.2 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	230 (160 peacetime)
Armament	54 guns in wartime (46 in peacetime) comprising Lowerdeck: 22 × 12-pounders Upperdeck: 22 × 6-pounders; Quarterdeck: 8 × 6-pounders; Foc's'le 2× 6-pounders

In September 1705, whilst under the command of Captain Samuel Martin Blackwall, along with two smaller vessels, had been ordered to convoy some merchantmen to the Baltic. On 20 October, as Blackwall and her two consorts HMS Sorlings and HMS Pendennis^[2] were convoying the return voyage, they encountered a superior French force. All the English ships were captured, Blackwall herself being taken by the French ship Protée. Both Captain Martin and the French commander were killed in the action.^[1][3]

Blackwall was commissioned into the French Navy under the name Blekoualle; she was recaptured on 15 March 1708 but was not taken back into service in the Royal Navy, the decision being taken to have her broken up instead.^[1][3] However, she was captured again by the French in 1709, this time being named Blakoual, remaining in French service until disposed of in 1719.

See also

• List of ships captured in the 18th century

Notes

1. Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 164.
2. Roche, vol.1 p. 345
3. Ships of the Old Navy, Blackwall.

References

• Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
• Michael Phillips. Blackwall (48) (1696). Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 2 March 2008.
• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
• Winfield, Rif (2009) British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-040-6.